Nobel committee hands out awards today in Stockholm

It stands to reason that winning the most illustrious award in literature would be a boon for book sales, but by just how much?

A heck of a lot, at least in the case of Canadian author and recent Nobel Prize for literature recipient Alice Munro.

Research by BookNet Canada compared international and Canadian sales of Munro’s hardcover and paperback books before and after her win, and found the award prompted a considerable boost.

Canadians were particularly supportive of our Nobel laureate with sales increasing by 4,424 per cent during the week ending Oct. 19 compared to the week ending Sept. 21. Her latest book, Dear Life, was released on paperback Oct. 8 in North America, two days before the win (nicely timed, Munro) which added to the numbers as well.

“The increase in Canadian sales was immediate and substantial, with the largest number of Canadian units sold the week of the award win. During that week, sales increased from 94 units to a height of 6,345 units for all of Munro’s titles, a 6650 per cent increase,” the report says.

Internationally, sales in Italy also saw a sizable spike, with a 4,213 per cent increase in sales between the week of Sept. 21 and the week of Oct. 19. In the same comparison, Spain saw a 1,890 per cent increase in sales, Ireland spiked at 2,625 per cent and Indian sales increased by 1,467 per cent.

BookNet Canada is a non-profit industry organization and data was compiled with the help of Nielson Book. E-book sales were not included and all but two of the countries (Spain and Italy) were English-only versions.

Munro’s daughter Jenny accepted her mother’s award Tuesday in Stockholm. Munro, 82, is celebrating with her other daughter, Sheila, in Victoria.

A supporter of Canadian writer Alice Munro holds up a poster prior to the Nobel Prize award ceremonies for Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Economic Sciences at the Stockholm Concert Hall on December 10, 2013. (FREDRIK SANDBERG/AFP/Getty Images)